Moment #556. Hausa at gym. Tue, Apr 18, 2006.

04/18/2006. I was doing an evening workout instead of in the morning. There was a man using a machine a couple rows ahead of me who looked like me might have been from Africa. He got done a few minutes ahead of me, and switched to one of the weight machines. At the end of my main workout, I went to get a drink of water, and passed by him, and could hear him speaking in English on his cell phone, and he spoke with an accent. I went back to my machine for a cool-down, and then wiped down the handles on the elliptical machine. I got another drink of water, and on my way back he was changing machines, so it seemed a good time to strike up a conversation.

I asked him, in French, if he spoke French, and he said yes. I asked where he was from and he said Niger. I asked if he spoke Hausa, and he said yes. He also spoke Gurma. I said my church has books in many African languages, and I had a Sunday school manual in Hausa in my car. I offered to show it to him, and he agreed. I went out to the car and brought back in Hausa and English Gospel Fundamentals, and a multi-language DVD of "Together Forever" which has a French audio track. I thought of giving him a French Book of Mormon too, but then thought it would be overload.

I brought the material back in, and he started flipping through the Hausa Gospel Fundamentals. We chatted a little bit. He said he's going back to Niger in a few months. I asked him to call me, and I'd find out a church contact for him in Niger.

I just looked it up, and there is no LDS mission in Niger, so I'll find out what mission it is in.

On the way out the second time, one of the guys at the counter asked, in a friendly manner, something like "Didn't you already go out before?" indicating he missed me coming back in. I stopped and told him about the encounter, saying that the man over there was from Africa, and I gave him a Sunday School manual in his native language. I apologized for giving out books at their business, and said "but it really made his day." They seemed cool with it.

I've never had a problem talking with people in public businesses like that. As long as you're there for a legitimate reason, as a customer, and only talk to those who are willing to speak with you, no one has a problem with it.